Mars Going Back to Its Direct Motion

Posted on March 4, 2010Posted by Jim Sher

Well, it’s not the most exciting title I’ve ever come up with for an article, but given the fact that Mars has been retrograde for 10 weeks, the fact that it is about to return to its normal direct motion, will hopefully be exciting enough for us. The end of any retrograde cycle is often the most difficult part to handle. The reason is that on one hand we’ve been working with whatever the cycle demands of us for a long time but at the same time we’re somehow not quite done. Worse yet, is that the planet is moving ever so slowly at the end of the cycle, so that it sometimes just tests our patience. “Why can’t we get started already,” can be our plaintive cry. Right now, Mars is only 13 minutes from where it will be when it turns direct on March 10, 2010 at 0° Leo. So, it is barely moving at all. This means that it can feel like there’s nothing we can do to move forward, and that to try to force anything can only bring frustration. This is not to say that some of us are not busy. But what we’re busy with is often concerned with the finishing up of an old cycle.

Another common theme at a time when Mars is moving so slowly is that whatever has been building up and has not come out into the light of day, will do so now. A friend reported to me today that she was at a meeting where things that have been discussed privately between many of the staff for many months, has suddenly come out into the open and in front of the supervisors. Here again, this group was dealing with old business that had been avoided. How many things in our life can be characterized by the term – ‘Hiding in plain sight!’

I would urge my readers to use this often frustrating time to make sure that anything you know that is ‘Hiding in plain sight’, be allowed to break free from its deadly silence and let out into the open plains of our conscious mind. I know that Mars is often associated with war, conflict, anger, and even violence. But ironically, such things occur in life when aspects that really need attention are resisted or worse, completely avoided.

Mars will go direct at 9:09am on Wednesday, March 10th. This should quickly bring a sense that things can begin to move again. Many of us will feel the shift pretty soon after the change occurs. But just as Mars is going very slowly now, it will continue to do so for many weeks. So, it’s best to not expect a sudden turnaround of momentum during most of March. By April, Mars will begin to get back to its normal speed and with many planets in Aries by that time, we will be able to really feel like we can get started into new territory. By then, the winter slowness will be quickly fading and feel like a distant memory.

Pluto in Capricorn

With Pluto now having moved fully into Capricorn (5°) we are beginning to see its meaning. Also, the square it is making to Saturn,( which is extra important since Saturn rules Capricorn), the meaning of this transit is also becoming clear. If I had to give you one word to describe the essence of this transit, that word would be DEBT. Of course there is much more to it than that, but let’s take a look at how deeply the use of debt has become in our society. Our entire economy has been based on it. We go into recession or worse, when people stop living with large debt. This means that the nature of our present model that operates our economic system is that it has encouraged us to live beyond our means. That is what is changing right now as we are having to look at the results of this. By the way, this problem has reached a peak in the European economy with the debt crisis in Greece and its spillover into all of Europe. We automatically assume that somehow it will all work out. Well, now we are discovering that this assumption is false.

One of the telltale signs of the beginning of a sea change has been the increased status in the Obama administration of the economist Paul Volcker. This change has been a part of the Mars retrograde cycle. Volcker was the head of the Fed in the early 80’s when he raised the interest rates to record levels (18%) in order to stop inflation. He was demonized at the time, but the effect of his action was profound. Not only did inflation stop, but the economy has avoided high interest rates for the last 30 years. So, Volcker represents an official who did what was necessary even if it was unpopular. He saw what was needed for the long-term and ignored short term pain. That kind of approach seems nearly impossible today. What Volcker is proposing now is a major set of reforms of our economic system. Right now, it is Volcker who is representing the major thrust of the Saturn square to Pluto in Capricorn. Not surprisingly, his proposals are being attacked and resisted. So far, economic reform seems to be in a stalemated position as the mammoth banks are fighting back with all their might. Here are a few of his proposals: He wants to prohibit risky investments by commercial banks. Also, he proposes that banks be limited to trading within their own accounts. Simply put, he wants to ensure that the economic crisis that we’re still in, is prevented from happening again, though I think it’s fair to say that our human species has a strong tendency to forget once the crisis is over. He also added that although this country may never return to having the manufacturing base we once had, it is necessary to begin ‘making things’ here again. He proposes more manufacturing and less importing. Why? Because we are so deeply in debt and continuing to move rapidly into even worse shape, that he is afraid a real crisis is inevitable if this doesn’t change. We need to begin making things again that can be exported to other countries. His fear is that if we don’t do this, we are on the way to becoming more like a third world country than any of us could have ever dreamed. For years, our middle class has been dying out.

In a recent interview, he very calmly described our beloved Congress as the most “dysfunctional” he has ever seen, describing it as unable to enact any meaningful legislation of any kind. The Republican party won’t even allow for the confirmation of key positions in the Dept. of the Treasury, making it unable to do its job. He also said something else that is worthy of serious consideration and asks important questions about the present values of our nation. He reminded the interviewer that in the past, our best minds went into engineering, physics, medicine, etc., but that now those same minds have become ‘financial engineers.’ They produce nothing. They create no real wealth. They just create schemes for making money. And they create such complex systems, that not only does no one really understand how it works, but even more scary is that no one knows at all what the effects will be on the economy of our nation, as they pile up. How can an economy survive when the obvious is no longer understood or even seen?

The problems this country is facing are hiding in plain sight. But with Pluto now fully in Capricorn, we will be forced to experience the reality of our short-sightedness and greed. The party is over, but it does not appear that we realize it. You can watch and see for yourself how things develop in Congress with regard to financial reform. There is a really funny skit at the following link from Funny or Die that you might enjoy if you haven’t seen it already. I’ll be commenting more in the near future about Pluto in Capricorn, especially as we approach the summer transits.

Jim brings over 35 years of experience as a therapist and transformational counselor to his practice of astrology, metaphysics, meditation and philosophy. He operates as a teacher and counselor and specializes in the use of discourse as a part of his teaching approach.

7 responses to “Mars Going Back to Its Direct Motion”

Thank you for making an astrologycal connection to the current economic crisis. I am absolutely in agreement with you from the economic point of view, where I can speak of…!
Yes Paul Volcker personifies any Obama’s LAST HOPE. Obama failed misserably at the beginning of his administration surrounding himself with the same old “generals and captains of Industry” who have been creating all the problems of this nation. Obama needs to make a total turn around and realize how and why he got elected: CHANGING THE NATIONAL PRIORITIES.
It’s going to take another financial cataclism like, China deciding to stop financing our debt, or the world G20 economies deciding to switch the Dollar for the Euro as the trading currency, and then we will defenitly have to start making our own widgets again.
Thank you for your insights; I love to read them each month.

Thx so much for clarifying and confirming the HIDDEN messages we all experience(: Great explanation of Obama’s plight of working with and under others(: You bring lite already, to secrets showing their face to those with just blind faith(: Marilyn R.

Right on target! This morning my supervisor handed me a memo about something that happened two months ago, and should have been dealt with by now, it is over in my mind. And she did this in a staff meeting with the boss present.

This boss had full control over the matter yet she is trying to shift blame to me, when she was equally responsible, and had the opportunity to deal with this two months ago. Why it comes out now was a big surprise to me, but now you have explained why. Thanks.

My own Mars is 3Leo47…I get three Mars returns, and yes, I am testy and impatient. I have decisively ended on the New Moon in Aquarius a longtime friendship with a person I discovered was a pathological liar. I have also discovered that the statute of limitations on a malpractice suit is closer than I thought it was and am having a helluva time getting a lawyer to take what is (according to every dentist that gave a second opinion) a “slam dunk” case. I hope that when Mars goes direct, I get a “yes.” Or I’ll be finding out how to act as my own attorney. My Solar Return has Sun/Venus in the 7th and Saturn in the 8th…Natal Mars is in the 10th; Natal Sun/Saturn conjunction in the 12th. Libra Asc. with Nep/Merc conj. the Asc. and SNode and Venus in Libra also in first. Scorpio on 2nd cusp with Taurus Moon in 8th = do I want vengeance or what? Trying to move forward during Mars Retro is like trying to swim in wet cement. Hoping I can avoid personal economic meltdown!

Great article! I have an Aries sun, with Jupiter in Aries and the past 10 weeks have been very challenging to me, workwise as well as other. I had an elective surgery in October that just wasn’t up to my expectations. The results were not a profound as I had expected. The surgeon listened to me yesterday and now I am scheduled for another surgery to make the results more to my liking. The work situation has seemed lighter as the week has progressed. It will be most interesting to see how this pans out.

Jim,
Great article. I particularly appreciate the insights about Volker. How better to see the planets play out than through our own leadership (sic). True, we all want to know about ourselves, but we can learn about ourselves by studying others, i.e., our completely incompetent, dysfunctional congress, who are our responsibility.. Maybe we are studying ourselves by studying our reality creating.

Anyone out thing “we” aren’t responsible for the past? Not only are we responsible for the past, no matter which generation we are, we are responsible for our future. And, that’s where things start get interesting. : )

Your insight is very much appreciated–and heck, I learn a bit of astrology along the way. ‘Bout time for some progress, my own as well as the whole…
Namasté
J.Hamilton

I’m a Double Aries sun and moon and mercury in Aries. I have defientely felt the direct motion of mars. My boss offered me a higher position and i have been speaking my mind more than ever! lol. not that Aries don’t anyway. : )

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